LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Director Marc Eliot Cohen Sells 1,100 Shares

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

LPL Financial stock traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $361.67. 386,999 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 702,018. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $384.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $351.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $293.86.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. On average, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on LPLA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.